No. Especially with how often players are ejected for clean hits. And are we going to do the same for other plays that cause injuries, like for an illegal chop block, horsecollar, or roughing the kicker?
I am going to agree with someone who played the game on this one. The rules for targeting I believe are fair and equitable and with the automatic review, the referees can be more worried about protecting a player than he does about being 100% sure the player led with the helmet. The game moves fast. There are 22 players, 8 officials. With that, the stupid replay guys still screwed up the one at UNM that knocked Floyd out of the game. Textbook definition of targeting. What I don't like is they took the penalty away on that one...it was still a hit on a defenseless receiver who didn't even have the ball. At the very least it is a 15 yd unnecessary roughness penalty. In the game against Cincinnati, the referee worded the call in a very precise way that led me to believe that even had the targeting ejection been overturned, the 15 yards for late hit would still be enforced. Some of the hits on WRs aren't because they were hit in the head, but the violent, sudden change in direction hit causes their head to whip and snap. Concussions are as much about direct contact with the head as they are about the brain being rattled about in the skull. The hit on Julian Edelmann in the Super Bowl last year was one such hit...good hard shoulder to shoulder hit, but he was absolutely defenseless.
The chop block and blocks below the waist are 2 of the more dangerous plays in football for defensive players...330 lb guys throwing themselves at guys knees is not a good combination.
I would offer the following on targeting...they are ejected for the remainder of the current game plus the next game regardless of when it happens in the game. Make it sort of a red card equivalent. Red cards are for dangerous and reckless plays OR repeated reckless play (or unsportsmanlike behavior). The NCAA has already started moving in this direction by tracking the # personal fouls against players in a game ( yellow card-like). You don't want to get into one of those gamesmanship situations where Houston might be playing Tulane the last week but need a certain team to lose, so they keep Ward, Jr. out for an "injury" knowing they can beat Tulane with their 3rd string, while a key player from team B has to sit out in a key game that might determine the outcome of the division. As an observer only, I can't think of any instance where I felt a player called for targeting was intentionally trying to injure someone. Redskin might have some more insight on this being on the field and in the trenches.
